LOS ANGELES — Meridian Capital Group, on behalf of Decron Properties, has arranged a $10 million loan for Playa Lincoln, a shopping center located at 8701 Lincoln Blvd. in Los Angeles. The grocery-anchored center features 73,000 square feet of retail space. Additionally, Meridian secured an $88 million loan for Playa Del Oro II, a multifamily property located at 7280 W. Manchester Ave. in Los Angeles. The asset features 260 apartment units and 5,000 square feet of retail space. The 10-year loans, provided by a life insurance company, feature five years of interest-only payments. Seth Grossman and Sarah Kuebler of Meridian Capital Group arranged the financing for the borrower.
SAN FRANCISCO — Merck has announced its new 294,000-square-foot West Coast research facility will be built in South San Francisco’s innovation cluster. The nine-story laboratory/office campus will be located at 213 E. Grand Ave. The site is fully entitled, with construction expected to commence in early 2017. Merck is scheduled to occupy the building in early 2019. The facility is targeting LEED-Platinum certification. Merck signed a long-term, full-building lease at the facility, which Alexandria Real Estate Equities will develop, construct and operate. The biopharmaceutical company is a current tenant of Alexandria. The campus will feature open green outdoor spaces, a 300-seat auditorium, fitness center, and café and terrace with waterfront views.
LOS ALAMITOS, CALIF. — A joint venture between Lincoln Property Co. and Long Wharf Real Estate Partners LLC is set to begin construction of Village 605, a 113,880-square-foot shopping center located roughly 23 miles outside Los Angeles in Los Alamitos. The open-air center will consist of seven one-story buildings. 365 by Whole Foods Market will anchor the property. The development will also feature a large community gathering area, outdoor seating and landscaped walkways. Construction is expected to begin in early 2017 with an anticipated opening set for early 2018. The project architect is KTGY Group Inc., and Strategic Retail Advisors is handling leasing.
LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $19.7 million sale of a 34,478-square-foot Gelson’s Market located along the Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. Glen Kunofsky and Lior Regenstreif of Marcus & Millichap brokered the transaction. Both the buyer and seller of the property were undisclosed.
LOS ANGELES — A joint venture between Lincoln Property and Rockwood Capital has purchased Gateway El Segundo, a 355,000-square-foot office campus, for $120 million. The campus is located at 300, 360, 390, 400 and 460 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in the Los Angeles submarket of El Segundo. The campus includes three Class B office buildings, two single-story retail buildings and outdoor meeting spaces. The office buildings are currently 52 percent leased, while the retail space is fully leased to six fast-casual and quick-service restaurants. The JV plans to undertake a multi-million-dollar renovation at Gateway El Segundo to transform it into a creative office campus. Upgrades will include an improved central courtyard, spec suites for smaller creative tenants seeking move-in-ready spaces, and modernized lobbies, restrooms and fitness center. Renovations are expected to be completed by fall 2017.
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — Industrial Property Trust has acquired Alessandro Business Center, a 582,000-square-foot industrial facility in Riverside, for $51.6 million. The facility is located at 7295 San Gorgonio Drive. Ascena Retail Group fully occupies the institutional-quality center. Jeff Chiate, Jeff Cole and Chuck Belden of Cushman & Wakefield, along with James Panting of Commercial Realty Advisors, represented the seller, Western Realco/Cigna, in this transaction.
SAN FRANCISCO — PCCP has provided a $48.5 million construction loan for the development of Bay Area Logistics Center, a 707,600-square-foot distribution facility in the East Bay submarket of Richmond. The park will be situated within the master-planned Pinole Point Industrial Park. Other notable tenants at the park include Amazon, Whole Foods, Williams and Sonoma and UPS. Bay Area Logistics Center is about 16 miles from the Port of Oakland and 27 miles from Oakland Airport. It will sit adjacent to a UPS hub. The facility is scheduled for completion in September 2017. The borrower was LDK Ventures.
LOS ANGELES — Equity Office has announced plans to reposition Howard Hughes Center, a 1.3 million-square-foot office center in the West Los Angeles submarket of Playa Vista. The renovation will transform the project into a connected, creative campus. Initial upgrades will include enhanced, flexible outdoor entertainment areas, drought-tolerant landscaping with mature trees, upgraded “wired” lobbies, contemporary spec suites and customizable floor plans. The repositioning will also better connect the five-building campus. Equity Office is a U.S. office platform that is wholly owned by Blackstone’s real estate funds. Blackstone acquired Howard Hughes Center in November 2016.
SAN DIEGO — CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance team has secured approximately $90 million in acquisition and repositioning financing for an eight-building office and R&D campus in San Diego. The property is located at 16399 W. Bernardo Drive in the Rancho Bernardo submarket. Financing was arranged on behalf of the buyer, an entity owned and managed by Swift Real Estate Partners. CBRE tailored the balance-sheet financing with a base term of three years and the ability to extend the loan as long as seven years. The non-recourse financing included capital toward the purchase of the property, as well as funding to perform capital improvements to reposition the buildings and amenities. The funds will also cover tenant improvements and leasing commissions. CBRE structured a prepayment provision that will allow Swift to sell individual buildings or refinance with long-term debt. CBRE closed the financing with Acore Capital, a domestic advisor of debt investments that worked on behalf of a Japanese Life Insurance Company.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Planning Commission has unanimously approved plans for the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s new Anita May Rosenstein Campus in Hollywood. Slated for opening in early 2019, the campus will serve as the new administrative headquarters for the Center, and include up to 100 units of affordable housing for seniors, 100 beds for homeless youth, new senior and youth centers, up to 35 units of permanent supportive housing for young people, and ground-floor retail space. Architecture firm KFA, in collaboration with design firm Leong Leong, is the architect for the development. The project will tie together The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, creating one large campus. Currently, The Village includes two theaters, two gallery spaces, offices for AIDS/LifeCycle and community meeting space. The campus expansion will also free up space at the Center’s McDonald/Wright building, which can then be fully dedicated to medical and mental health care, addiction recovery services, HIV/STD testing and treatment and other medical services. The project will now seek approval from the Los Angeles City Council. The Los Angeles LGBT Center was founded in 1969 and claims to serve more people in the LGBT community than any other organization in the …